Idol talk

So American Idol 6 is over. I didn't get to watch it on TV while it was airing because it's about 20 episodes delayed over here. But I was able to keep tabs on what was going on. And I have to say I was very disappointed when Melinda lost. It was so clear that she was the best singer of all of them and she really did bring it every week. I think what was so disappointing was that on Top 3 week, Melinda was just so clearly on top of her game. It's not like she put in a sub-standard performance while the other two raised their games. No, she took it to them and should have gone out on top. Instead, she got voted off. There are several conspiracy theories going on again, of course. But after she left, I wasn't all that interested in the outcome. I just hope Melinda snags a record deal soon and her album sells at least moderately well.

Speaking of which, Elliott's CD has now sold more than 200,000 copies. Not in the league of Carrie (with an impressive 6 million albums sold + a few new awards to her name), Kelly, or Chris (having his song 'Home' take the place of Daniel Powter's 'Bad Day' during elimination has kept Daughtry near the top of the charts for weeks and has raked in more than 2 million albums sold). But when you consider that Elliott was essentially directionless prior to AI, sales of 200K is not bad at all. And there are good signs that he may end up selling a lot more. His amazingly rich and soulful performance on Idol during top 3 week gave his album a spike in sales, and radio play of his songs continues to steadily increase. Check out these numbers in the different Billboard charts this week (his CD has been out for 10 weeks already):

• Billboard 200 albums: #29
• Independent: #1 (5 of 10 weeks total at #1)
• Internet: #16
• R&B: #15
• 200: #50
• Hot 100: #35
• Hot Airplay: #59
• Hot Digital: #23
• Pop 100: #24
• Pop Airplay: #18

When you factor in the fact that his album was produced by a newbie independent record label, you have to be pleased with the success he is reaping. Hopefully when all is said and done, he reaches gold. Good luck, Elliott!

Another favorite former contestant of mine, Bo Bice, is supposed to release an album later this year, in August I believe. I'm not sure under which record label it will be released, but Bo had more control over this new album. His debut CD, "The Real Thing" was not very well-received mainly because the songs sounded a bit too pop and didn't have the edge that Bo constantly showcased while on AI4 (I personally enjoyed his CD though). Hopefully, this new CD can turn things around for him.

I also recently saw 'Dreamgirls' and I have to say that I think Jennifer Hudson won her Oscar and all those other acting awards, IMHO, by virtue of hype. If the award was for best vocal performance, I could understand (I still wouldn't agree, but I would understand). But she won for acting, and honestly, I felt that her portrayal of Effie White lacked the intensity and despair required of the role. The looks of love she gave Curtis lacked both passion and depth, and she did not display enough of the self-destructive nature that Effie had. Granted, her "And I'm telling you" performance was brilliant. But that was all of 5 minutes and not the entire movie. (And IMHO, I still feel that Jennifer Hudson's voice lacks texture and control. Her high notes are awesome and hair-raising, but when she's not hitting the top 2-3 notes in her chest tone range, I find her vocals too grating and forced. Also, her singing in Dreamgirls, while well-performed, still don't hold a candle to the Jennifer Holliday's original renditions.)

And while we are on the topic of AI3, I am very pleased that Fantasia is getting awesome reviews for her performance of Celie in 'The Color Purple'. Apparently, she is getting such positive critical acclaim for her debut performance on Broadway that people from all over America are buying tickets to catch the show while Fantasia is still on it. After the Hudson buzz due to Dreamgirls with everyone saying that the wrong person was crowned in AI3, it is great to see Fantasia do well.